Brick-machine.



W. A. SHOCK.

BRICK MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED Aue.3. 1914.

1.1%,175. Patented July 11, 1916.

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W. A. SHOCK.

BRICK MACHiNE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.3. 1914.

wmmb, Patented July 11, 1916.

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W. A. SHOCK.

BRICK MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED Au6.3, 1914.

1,1 115. Patented July 11, 1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

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BRICK MACHINE.

' APPLICATION FILED AUG.3, 1914.

Patented July 11, 1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5 BRICK-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 11, 1915.

Application filed August 3, 1914. Serial No. 854,888.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WVILLIAM A. SHOCK, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brick- Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to a brick machine, and the primary object of my invention is to provide a novel machine wherein positive and reliable means are employed, in a manner hereinafter set forth, for expeditiously and economically molding clay or other plastic or cementitious material into raw or uncured bricks or building blocks.

A further object of this invention is to provide a brick machine for molding a plurality of bricks at one operation, and provision is made whereby various shapes and finished surfaces can be imparted to plastic material placed in the machine.

The principal elements of the inventionnamely, a machine frame, a mold, movable mold partitions, mechanism for moving the mold partitions, tampers and molders, and mechanism for actuating the tampers and 1nolders-will be hereinafter separately and specifically described in detail, together with the novel arrangement and objects accomplished from such a combination of elements.

The preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, but it must be understood that the structural elements are susceptible to such changes as in the size, shape and manner of assemblage, as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a front elevation of the machine showing the mold partly in section; Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the machine; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the machine; Fig. 4 is a similar View partly broken away and partly in section; Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view of the machine taken on the line VV of Fig. 1, and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of the machine showing a plurality of tampers and molders.

The machine is constructed of strong and durable metal, principally in the form of structural steel, and consists of comparatively few parts easily assembled to provide a rigid equi-balanced machine for producmg a plurality of uncured bricks that are free of air holes and other imperfections.

Considering now the various features under the captions enumerated above, reference will first be had to the machine frame. The machine frame comprises a front wall 1, a rear wall 2, end walls 3 and 4, corner braces or angle irons 5 and transverse supports 6. Suitably secured to the end walls 3 and 4 are uprights 7 having the confronting sides thereof provided with guide ribs 8. The upper ends of the uprights 7 are connected by longitudinal parallel frames 9 to add rigidity to said uprights.

1l[0ZcZ.-Suitably secured to the transverse supports 6 is a mold base 10 and mounted thereon by angle brackets 11 is a rear mold wall 12. This wall is provided with a plurality of vertical equally spaced slots 13, the purpose of which will appear in connection with the mold partitions. Hinged to the ends of the mold base 10, as at 14, are mold end walls 15 and hinged to the front edge of the mold base, as at 16, is a front mold 17. The walls 15 and 17 correspond in height, but are of less depth than the rear mold wall 12. The walls 15 and 17 can be swung to horizontal position whereby easy access can be had to the interior of the mold, and to retain the walls 15 and 17 in a closed or vertical position, the ends of the rear mold wall 12 are provided with pivoted latch bars 18 adapted to engage keepers19 carried by the ends of the front mold wall 17. The latch bars 18 extend transversely of the end mold walls and thereby retain said walls in a vertical position between the front and rear walls of the mold. The hinges of the various walls are disposed whereby the walls 15 and 17 will rest upon the mold base 10 when closed, and with said walls made of strong and durable metal it is possible to tamp, compress and shape plastic material within the mold. In some instances, the inner side of the walls 12, 15 and 17 can be roughened to impart a rough finish to bricks or blocks molded by the machine. Detachably mounted upon the mold base 10 is a pallet 20 having the top thereof provided with transverse grooves 21 in alinement with the lower ends of the slots 13. With the walls 15 and 17 in a lowered position the pallet- 20 can be easily removed from the mold.

Movable moldv partiti0ns.-The outer side of the rear mold wall 12 is provided with rearwardly extending parallel guides 22 having the confronting faces thereof grooved, as at 23, to receive the upper and lower edges. of parallel partitions 24. The partitions 24 are movable in the slots 13 of the wall 12 and the grooves 21 of the pal- .let 20, said partitions dividing the mold into said lever is pivotally connected, as at 30,

to a rod 31 extending through the front and rear walls of the machine frame. The rear end of the connecting rod 31 is pivotally connected, as at 32 with a crank 33 of a rock shaft 34, journaled'in brackets or bearings 35 carried by the rear wall 2 of the machine. The rock shaft 34 is provided with a plurality of cranks 36 and the ends of said cranks are pivotally connected by links 37 to the tie rod 26 of the movable mold partitions. It is through the medium of the operating lever 29 and the mechanism just described that the movable mold partitions can be moved in and out of the mold.

' Tampers and m0-ZcZers.Slidable between the uprights 7 and engaging the guide 8 thereof is a cross head composed of sets of transversebars 38 and 39, these bars being spaced apart; to engage the sides of the guides 8, also to accommodate hangers 40 that are bolted or otherwise secured to the sets of bars, as at 41. The bars of each set have the confronting faces thereof provided with' oppositely disposed grooves 42, the

grooves of-one set of bars vertically alining with the grooves of the other set of bars. These grooves receive theshanks 43 of sockets 44, said shanks being clamped between the. bars of each set by transverse screw bolts 45 or other fastening means. The set ofbars 38 is provided with a stop bar 46 against which the upper ends of the shank 43 abut. The bar 46 is retained'upon the 7 upper edges of the bars 38 by bolts 47, re-

taining plates48 and nuts 49. The sockets 44 are provided with detachable tampers or molders'50 adapted to enter the compart= ments 25 of the mold and tamp or compress plastic material within said compartments. The tampers '50 are strengthened or reinforced by transverse and longitudinally disposed ribs or Webs 51 and in making ordi-- .ers can be of any desired shape to impart a desired shape or finish to the bricks or blocks, and thus cooperate with the walls of the mold in producing plain or artistic bricks or blocks.

Mechanism fm'ectu-atin-g the tempers and m0Zde1s.Journaled in the end walls 3 and 4 of the machine frame, adjacent the front wall 1, is a longitudinal shaft 53 having the 430 ends thereof provided with cranks 54 pivotally connected, as at 55 to the lower end of pitmen 56. The upper ends of the pitmen 56 are pivotally connected, as at 57, to a cross head 58 composed of parallel bars. It is between the bars of this cross head that the upper ends of the hangers 40 are secured by pins 59 or other fastening means. One end of the shaft 53 is provided with a ratchet wheel 60 and an operating lever 61. The operating lever 61, contiguous to the ratchet wheel 60, has a pivoted pawl 62 normally engaging the ratchet wheel 60. The pawl 62' has an extension 63 adapted to engage a kick off bar or trip 64, carried by the front wall 1 of the machine frame. The operating lever 61 and the pawl 62 are employed for rocking the shaft 53 and raising the cross head 58, whereby the tampers 50 will be elevated, to descend by gravity when the extension 63 of the pawl engages the kick off bar 64. To hold the tampers 50 an elevated position the uprights 7 are p vided with suitable keepers or latches adapted to extend under the lowermos of bars of the reciprocable cross head, to limit the downward movement of the tampers, the uprights 7 are provided with adjustable stops 66. The adjustable steps 66 permit of bricks or blocks of various depth being formed in the mold. Vith the mold closed and during the operation of raising the tampers 50, a plastic material can be placed in the mold and within the compartments 25 thereof. As the 15 campers 50 are raised the extension 63 of the'pawl 62 is gradually carried toward the, trip or kick ofi bar 64 and when impinged by the extension 63, the pawl 62 is shifted and thereby releases the ratchet wheel 60 and the shaft 53 relative to the operating lever 61. The tampers 50 suddenly descend and enter the mold with sufficient impetus or force as to depress and tamp the plastic material within the mold. The plastic material is shaped by the walls of the compartments 25 and by shifting the operating lever 61 the pawl 62 can obtain fresh grip upon the ratchet wheel 60 whereby a reverse stroke of the operating lever 61 the elevates the tampers 50. It is during this operation that the walls of the mold can be lowered, the mold partitions withdrawn by operating the lever 29, and then the pallet 20 with the shaped plastic material thereon removed from the mold and an empty pallet placed in position. With two or more attendants of the machine the molding of plastic material can be expeditiously and economically carried on, and when only one operator is used the stops 65 can be employed for holding the tampers in an elevated position While the mold is filled With plastic material or shaped material removed therefrom.

The location of the operating shaft 53 is such that a plurality of machines can be arranged end to end and operated by a shaft common to the machines and from a suitable source of power, as a motor. Such a battery of machines can be advantageously used in connection with a large brick yard.

hat I claim is 1. In a brick machine, a machine frame, uprights carried by the ends of said frame, a mold between said uprights, a cross head reciprocable between said uprights, a plurality of tampers carried by said cross head and adapted to enter said mold, a rock shaft journaled in said machine frame, cranks on the ends of said shaft, pitmen connecting said cranks and the cross head, a ratchet wheel fixed on an end of said shaft, a lever loose on said shaft at a side of said ratchet wheel; a pawl carried by said lever nor mally in engagement with said ratchet wheel whereby said tampers may be elevated through the medium of said lever, ratchet wheel, crank shaft, pitmen, and cross head;

and a trip on the front of said machine frame adjacent said ratchet wheel adapted to be engaged by said pawl to move said pawl out of engagement with said ratchet wheel during an elevation of said tampers whereby said tampers may descend by gravity.

2. In a brick machine, a machine frame, uprights carried by the ends of said frame, a mold between said uprights, a cross head reciprocable between said uprights, a plurality of tampers carried by said cross head and adapted to enter said mold, a rock shaft journaled in said machine frame, cranks 011 the ends of said shaft, pitmen connecting said cranks and the cross head, a ratchet wheel fixed on an end of said shaft, a lever loose on said shaft at a side of said ratchet wheel; a pawl carried by said lever normally in engagement with said ratchet wheel whereby said tampers may be elevated through the medium of said lever, ratchet wheel, crank shaft, pitmen and cross head, a trip on the front of said machine frame adjacent said ratchet wheel and adapted to be engaged by said pawl to move said pawl out of engagement with said ratchet wheel during the elevation of said tampers, whereby said tampers may descend by gravity, means carried by said uprights adapted to hold said cross head in an elevated position whereby said mold may be held, and adjustable means carried by said uprights adapted to limit the inward movement of said tampers into said mold.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM A. SHOCK.

"Witnesses:

KARL H. BUTLER, ANNA M. Donn.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

